The Age of War
by Undead Raptor
Summary: Doctor Who meets Halo in the Fall of Reach. May or may not be completed, who knows?
1. Chapter 1

"So where are we this time?" asked Rory as he stepped out of the TARDIS door. The Doctor and Amy followed him. The three of them looked around at the sprawling canyon that dived almost a thousand metres just a few feet away from them. A thin river, shaped like the Thames, snaked its way through the bottom of the rocky canyon. Green fields spread out in all directions with warped trees and bushes popping out. In the distance a large mountain towered over the horizon, with icy peaks reaching up into heaven itself.  
>"Not sure. There's too much magnetic interference for the TARDIS to figure out where we are" the Doctor said in response to Rory.<br>"Well that's never a good sign with you" said Rory as he stared out at the mountains.  
>"Shut up Rory. This place is nice, apart from the weird trees" said Amy as she held onto her hair with one hand, the wind trying to blow it into her face. The Doctor leaned against the closed TARDIS door, watching the wonder of his two companions as they looked around.<br>"So you've got no idea where we are?" asked Rory.  
>"Well I've got some idea. I just wrote in "Human colony world" in the TARDIS' database and clicked random search. And here we are. Just hope it's not..." the Doctor began to trail off.<br>"Hope it's not what?" asked Amy.  
>"Doesn't matter, it probably isn't" replied the Doctor. Rory raised his eyebrows in worry as Amy crossed her arms in an attempt to keep warm.<br>"Why Human colony?" asked Rory.  
>"I wanted to show you what your race'll achieve in the next six hundred years or so. The vast territory your people will take hold of so quickly. You Humans are all so curious, you just won't stop looking for more, trying to find out more. That's why I love your race" he said smiling.<br>"So, what do we do now?" asked Rory. The Doctor clapped his hands together and began walking away from the TARDIS towards the edge of the canyon. He peered down.  
>"What else? We go exploring" he answered. He began walking alongside the edge of the canyon, which Rory and Amy both made sure to keep away from. <p>

"So Doctor, you said that there's magnetic interference stopping the TARDIS from knowing where we are. How?" asked Rory.  
>"It doesn't matter; I came here to show you both exactly how great your species is. Of course I know where we are. Welcome to Planet Reach" answered the Doctor proudly.<br>"What year is it?" asked Amy.  
>"2552" said the Doctor.<br>"And you wanted to show how great Humans are? How?" asked Rory.  
>As if to answer him, there was a massive roar from above and an enormous Covenant CCS-class battlecruiser soared overhead, causing a strong wind to hit the three travellers. They watched as the enormous ship flew overhead, scattering the clouds as it flew.<br>"What is that?" asked Amy.  
>"It's a Covenant Battlecruiser. You're about to see Humanity's first war against another species" answered the Doctor.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Thank you for your kind words in your reviews, much appreciated.

Rory walked with his arms crossed as the trio navigated the pathway on the edge of the canyon, watching as Amy and the Doctor talked freely, mostly with Amy asking questions about the current war between Humans and the Covenant. But Rory wasn't interested, he was secretly angry at the Doctor. Why had he brought them here? He'd told Amy that Reach was doomed to fall, so how would that show how great Humans were? How could defeat somehow make someone bigger? He didn't know and it was in his best interests to find out. Of course, the Doctor had forbidden either of them from telling anyone they met who they really were or any information about the events of the war that hadn't played out yet. _War never changes _thought Rory as he kicked stones off the path and watched them tumble down the walls of the canyon, echoing all the way. As he walked, Rory wondered if he was jealous of the Doctor. Sure, the Doctor and Amy were just friends but the Doctor had previously told Amy how he knew she had total faith in him, how she trusted him with her life and she agreed instantly. Rory always found himself outside of these conversations, always the one that needed rescuing. Maybe they didn't respect him enough to include him. Rory felt angry at himself for having such childish thoughts but they were still with him as the Doctor suddenly shouted out in shock.

The Doctor didn't so much shout as shriek. A shriek in shock, a reaction to the sight of a body lying on its front across the path. Amy instinctively tried to approach the body as she realised it was heaving, still breathing heavily though clearly injured. But the moment she stepped towards it the Doctor held out an arm to block her.  
>"Amy, Rory. Do not approach it" he said without taking his eyes off the injured figure.<br>The Doctor walked towards the body, crouching down at its side and began whispering words of comfort to it. Amy began to walk towards it, her eyes fixed on the figure in absolute curiosity. Rory tried to hold her shoulders to stop her but she kept walking. The figure was lying in the shadow of a nearby tree that looked far too alien to be of Earth origin. That or it was just a very ugly birch.  
>"Doctor... what is that?" Amy asked slowly as she began to realise that 'it' probably wasn't Human. The Doctor looked up at her, still crouched next to it, with a solemn look on his face.<br>"Come and see" he said in a grave tone.

Amy crouched down towards the figure just as it rolled over to show itself. Amy fell from her crouching position in shock and let out a yelp just as Rory caught her.  
>"Thanks..." she said to Rory, patting his hand that held her while still looking at what was in front of her. It was an alien, she got that, but it was unlike any she had ever seen before. Across most of its body it wore sleek blue armour that still gleamed even when its indigo coloured blood stained most of the chest area. Its head was the most physically interesting. It consisted of a large head, with a jaw that split into four separate pieces, each section holding sharp teeth. Small yellow eyes, which Amy likened to cat eyes, watched them. These eyes didn't watch them with a look of fear or a look of pain but a look of absolute hatred. A low growl could be heard coming from the alien's throat, presumably meant to be threatening. The alien's four digit hands, with two opposable thumbs on each hand, gripped the sandy ground tightly, picking up small handfuls of sand before dumping it back down.<p>

"What is that?" asked Rory, slowly getting closer.  
>"It's a Sangheili. Nicknamed Elites" responded the Doctor, still sounding grave. He was stroking his hand over what looked like gunshot wounds on the Sangheili's chest, where its indigo coloured blood still spilled all over the blue armour. The Doctor continued talking; making an assessment of its injuries but Amy wasn't listening. She was busy stroking the arm of the Sangheili and slowly its look of hatred began to fade.<br>"Gunshot wounds to the chest, most likely caused by an assault rifle, MA37 variant..." the Doctor was saying but Rory didn't listen either. He had medical experience; wouldn't this thing be his area of expertise? The Doctor seemed to read his mind since he smiled up at Rory.  
>"There's not a lot your training can do for this one I'm afraid Rory. These guys have two hearts like me, blood mainly contains bimetallic haemoglobin. Your experience as a nurse can't really help" he said.<br>"So we'll just let it die?" asked Amy.  
>"You're at war with their entire race you know" said the Doctor in a matter-of-fact way. He looked down as the Sangheili's breathing became slower and slower. The Doctor stood up, still looking at the dying alien.<br>"If they're our enemies, why are we looking after a dying one?" asked Rory.  
>"Because it deserves it. Notice the blue armour. It's a Minor; this was its first campaign. Probably never scored a single kill. Go shot too soon by one of the Spartans that are currently surrounding us on all sides" he said.<p>

The moment he said that, six Spartan soldiers suddenly appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the trio. Each Spartan looked very different to the others, wearing different armour types with different colours. One of the Spartans, wearing white GUNGNIR armour, walked up to the three with a handgun in one hand and shot the dying Sangheili in the head, killing it instantly and spraying blood.  
>"No! You didn't have to do that!" the Doctor yelled at the Spartan angrily. The Spartan silently turned and walked away. One of the other Spartans, a female wearing full light-blue Air Assault armour, began to talk.<br>"Identify yourselves. You shouldn't be here" she said in a strong German accent. She sounded much younger than the armour made her body look.  
>"Ah, I'm the Doctor and these are my companions Amelia Pond and Rory Williams. And you are?" he asked.<br>"That's on a need to know basis, Doctor" replied the female Spartan. The Doctor fumbled inside his coat pocket and Amy noticed that a couple of the Spartans were training their rifles on him, probably thinking he was reaching for a weapon. But instead he pulled out the psychic paper and showed it to the blue Spartan.  
>"There, see? Dr John Smith, acting head of Spartan operations in this province, bravo-kilo-niner. Believe me?" he asked confidently, with a large grin on his face.<br>"Not really. The paper's blank" replied the Spartan, a hint of pleasure in her voice. The Doctor slowly withdrew the psychic paper and put it back in his pocket, clearly let down by his annoying failure.  
>"Ah... yes, you see... um... okay, I've got nothing" said the Doctor, stepping away from the Spartan.<br>"But I do, Doctor. Don't think five hundred years in the future we've forgotten who you are. Psychic paper gave you away. Commander Gail-093, acting commander of Archer Team. Welcome to Reach Doctor, you've certainly come at an interesting time for all of us" she said.


	3. Chapter 3

**What's this? I wrote a new chapter? That's right brah. This bitch is back with revengeance. **

Amy couldn't help but be fascinated with what she was seeing. With the Doctor she'd seen plenty of incredible sights all across the universe but this felt different. It reminded her of Earth, though the weather certainly reminded her of England. The wind turned violent every few minutes, buffeting their M831 Troop Transport Warthog jeep. She sat in the passenger compartment at the back of the Warthog with the Doctor and Rory, she watched with keen eyes the weather-beaten forest several miles away that snaked halfway up a large, snow tipped peak . The trees had an oddly warped shape, curving from one direction to another like they had been moulded by an abstract artist. Grey clouds swirled around the tip of the mountain and to the left of the winding dirt road was a sheer drop of about six hundred feet, leading straight to a sprawling, still lake as grey as graphite. Behind their Warthog was a second one, though this one had a large machine gun turret on the back instead of a passenger compartment.  
>The passenger compartment only had room for three people, so Amy, Rory and the Doctor were crammed into it while two Spartans were in the front, one driving and one in the passenger seat. The passenger was Gail-093, commander of this group. Driving was a Spartan wearing light silver Scout armour, whose name Amy had never caught. Three other Spartans were in the Warthog behind, while the sixth one had stayed behind to join some Marines. Amy finally decided to start a conversation.<br>"So where are we going?" she asked. Gail answered her almost immediately.  
>"FOB Scarlet. Someone wants to see you" she said.<br>"And who would that be?"  
>"You'll find out soon enough" Gail replied before turning her attention away, instead talking into the radio built into her helmet. "Captain, we are enroute to Scarlet now. Will be there momentarily, ETA three minutes". Amy couldn't hear the reply but assumed that this Captain would be the person they'd be meeting.<p>

Within almost exactly three minutes, they turned a corner on the road and there was FOB Scarlet. It was an immense structure built into the side of the granite mountain and overlooking the massive valley that stretched to the horizon. It was huge; taller than any building in London and built out of grey iron. Several helipads could be seen jutting out of the structure with helicopters and dropships atop them, dwarfed by the huge base. The road gradually become thinner as it approached the base, winding along the side of the enormously high cliff until it finally reached FOB Scarlet. Amy, Rory and the Doctor all watched with fascination at the military base as they made their final approach. The Warthog slowed down as it reached an entrance, where a pair of Marines were standing guard armed with assault rifles. The Warthog came to a complete stop and one of the Marines walked to Gail.  
>"Go ahead, the Captain's expecting you" the Marine told her before the wall of the base slid open revealing itself to be a huge blast door. Once open, the Warthog drove inside to show that it contained a sprawling hangar bay filled with vehicles. Many military personnel were inside and their Warthog went largely unnoticed by them. The Warthog finally came to a stop in the middle of the hangar and Gail climbed out. Amy looked at the Doctor, who had been silent the entire journey.<br>"Doctor?" she asked, worried. He looked at her. "Are you alright?"  
>"Amy, do you realise what we've gotten ourselves into? We shouldn't be here, we shouldn't be this involved" he whispered angrily.<br>"What's the big problem?" she asked.  
>"Amy, this is Reach. The battle for this planet ends with its total destruction and billions of people dead. I don't want anything to do with this" he told her.<br>"But... if that's what happens, you can tell them can't you? You can tell them and show them what they need to do to win, can't you?" asked a frightened Amy.  
>"No! I can't change history" the Doctor replied before jumping off the Warthog and following a waiting Gail. Amy hesitated before following. She grabbed Rory's hand as she followed.<br>"What's with him?" asked Rory.  
>"He's gone all soft" she replied. But in her head she felt terrified. The idea that they were in a war that destroyed the planet, and that the Doctor seemed so defeated about it already, frightened her beyond belief.<p> 


End file.
